Improvement in apparatus for pressing hats



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY L. SWEET, OF FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR. PRESSING HATS.

Specilieation forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,067, dated March 31, 1863.

form B, as circumstances may require.. At the rear part of the said platform, and above it, there is a space or cham ber, D, it being forthe purpose of containing a heated body or block of iron or othrr suitable material. There are also two other such chambers, E E, arranged against the sides ofthe space within which the platform is situated, they being for the same purposes as the chamberD. The heated blocks or matters, when placed in the said chambers, serve to impart heat to the pressers or devices for pressing a hat. The crown and side pressers F F l are blocks which rest on the platform B, and support the two lower rim-pressers, G G, which, besides serving to aid in pressing the rim of a hat, are also made so as to aid in pressing the sides ofthe hat-body. A matrix or mold to receive a hat-body is formed in the several pressers F F and G G, and so that the rim ofthe hat may rest iatwise on the upper surfaces of the lower rim-pressers, G G. A thin plate or flange, b, projects downward from the inner part of the matrix of each rimpresser G or G', and overlaps that of that side presser F or F which is,A underneath the said rim-presser, the whole being as shown in the drawings. The side and rim pressers F G are so connected with a lever, H, as to be capable of being drawn by it away from their fellow-pressers, in order that a hat may be placed between the sets ot' rim and side pressers. This lever while the pressers F Gl are in action should be fastened in position, so as to keep the pressers in their place. There are also other crown and side pressers which operate within the mold or matrix and in the interior of the hat-body, they forming parts of an expansive block, I. These latter crown and side pressers are shown at c c c c d d d d in Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6. Each presser c is the quadrant of an elliptical or other proper shaped block, and is united to one of the parts d which rise vertically, or thereabout on the part c so connected with it. An upright plunger or pitman, e, is arranged centrally between the several pressers, d d d d, and is connected to each of them by two toggles, f f, jointed, respectively, to the pitman and to the presser. An elastic cover, K, of vulcanized rubber, encompasses the several pressers, c c c e d d d d, and goes entirely underneath the crown-pressers c c c c. There is also an elastic plate or cushion,

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, HENRY L. SWEET, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Foxborough, in the county of Norfolk and State ot' Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful or improved Machine for Pressing Hats; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully describedin the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings, ot which- Figure l is a front eleva-tion, and Fig. 2 a side elevation, ot it. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal and vertical section of it, and Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of it. Fig. 5 is a top view, and Fig. 6 a longitudinal section, ofthe expansive block as separate from the rest of the machine.

The nature of my invention consists in a combination and arrangement of rim-pressers, crown and side pressers, and an expansive block, the whole being constructed and operating together, substantially as hereinafter specitied; also, in a peculiar arran gement of heatin gchambers with respect to the rim, crown, and side pressers or molds 5 also, in au expansive block formed in separate sections and surrounded or provided with an elastic cover, as described, in combination with expansive machinery and with machinery for forcing such block and its expansive mechanism downward into the mold; also, in the combination of an elastic plate or cushion with the rim, crown, and side pressers and the expansive block; also, in the adjustable side and crown pressers or dies, as made in manner and combined with the lower rim-pressers, and provided with adjustments, as specied, whereby they may be adjusted with respect to the rim-dies, in order to conform to hats of different heights 5 also, in the combination of an adjustable annulus and its adjustment-screws with the upper rimpresser, the expansive block, and the external side and crown pressers, arranged as hereinafter set forth. I

In the drawings, A denotes the frame of the machine. Within this frame there is placed a horizontal platform, B, which should be so applied to the frame a-s to be capable of being moved freely in vertical directions. This platform is supported on a wedge, (l, placed between it and the bed-block a of the frame, such Wedge being` for the purpose of enabling a person to either elevate or lower the plat- P, of vulcanized rubber, placed between the rim-pressers G G' and their fellow-presser L, which is disposed over them and is hinged to the frame A so as to be capable of being turned away from or raised oft' the pressers G G', as circumstances may require. Within a circular or an elliptical space, g, formed in the upper presser, L, there is an annulus, h, which slides vertically in such space, 'and rests against a series of set-screws, it' t z', screwed into the presser L. A swinging frame, M, carrying a cam-lever, N, is hinged to the frame A, and so as to be capable of being swung either directly over or away from the presser L, and in such manner as to enable the said presser when the frame is over it to be forced downward by pressure brought to bear on the handle of the cam-lever.

The position of a hat whilcin the machine and ready for being pressed is shown at O in Figs. 3 and 4 by red lines, in which case it will be seen that the rim of the hat rests directly on the two pressers G G', also that the elastic plate P rests on the upper surface of the rim, the presser L bearingdirectly on the plate P and on the top of the pitman c. It will also be observed that the annulus h bears on the top of the pressers d d d d. Under these circumstances, if the cam-lever N be forced downward, the crown, the rim, and the sides of the hat-body will be simultaneously pressed, the elastic cover K and the cushion or plate P serving to aid in causing complete conformity of thehat to the pressing or smoothing surfaces in contact with its rim, sides, and crown.

My machine is designed and used by me for pressing or shaping hats made of barided straw, but it may also be employed for pressing or shaping hats made of other materials, whether braided, felted, or otherwise arranged together.

I claimn 1. The combination and arrangement of the crown and side pressers, F F', the rim-pressers G G' L, and the expansive block I, the whole beingconstructed and-operatin g together substantially as specified.

2. The arrangement of the heating-chambers D E E with respect to the crown, rim, and side pressers, when the latter are constructed and arranged as specified.

3. The expansive block I, as formed of separate sections and surrounded by an elastic cover, as described, in combination with its expansive mechanism, and with a mechanism for forcing the block and its expansive mechanism downward into the mold of a hat when in the latter.

4. The combination of the elastic plate or cushion P with the rim, crown, and side pressers, 4and the expansive block, as described..v

5. The adjustable crown and side pressers,

as made in manner and combined with the the lower rim-pressers, and provided With adjustments, substantially as described, whereby they may be adjusted with reference to the rim-pressers and for hats of different heights, as may be desirable.

6. The combination of the annulus h and its adjusting-screws with the presser L and the expansive block I, constructed and combined with side and crown pressers, F F G G', substantially in manner andso as to operate as specified.

H. L. swnnr.

Witnesses:

R. H. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr. 

